Stuffing box



March zo, 1945. J, M, Q FULLMAN 2,371,753

STUFFING BOX Filed July .27, 1942 INVENTOR James M 6./'7/72276722 ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 20, 1945 N UNITED i amnesia'. tuinman. smdney,ra.,assigncr r 'to National Electric Products' Corporation, :a

corporation of Delaware I l i l. .i

` This niventionrelatesto'lstuning boxes 'and parl ticrilarly to those intended for 'use ywhene'stationaryjobj'ects such "as Ycables, 'and pipesjpass thrcugn'openings "in partitions l"erw-ills "of watertight 'compartments o'fshipsfan'd the like,

Stuing boxes now used lfor this, and similar purposes, are bulky `andy expensive `Abecause `-tli'e 'parte are "madefrom fairly neavy'm-etal stockiand considerable machining isl required. in *those types 'which the packing 'is compressed by la 'rotarygland, thejend of the gland either 'rotates -iiirectlr in vcontact with the 1 packing lor again'stfa separate metal bush, or washer, interposed 'beutvlreeritheendfof the gland and thepacking. In fone case 'the packing cijfers f considerable frictional resistance yto the turningbf the gland; thereis rio-direct com-pression of the caching and the .gland kproduces a twisting actionon fth'eiacking. n'th'e other case't-he Abush or washer is easily lost; it constitutes an additional part to handle; and it must be separately removed when repacking is necessary. Its removal is generally dicult especially in the case of a at washer since it is left l far down in the box when the `gland is removed. l

According to this invention all parts of' the stumng box are made of sheet metal. Preferably each partis a piece of metal tubing and very little machining is required. `The gland member is a Acomposite one made `up of a gland sleeve andra gland bush. l The end ofthe gland sleeve does not.

act directly upon the packing, butl upon the gland bush, which in turn bears4 on the packing and compresses it by a direct axial but non-rotary movement when the gland sleeve is actuated`.`

The gland bush is loosely but permanently connected to the gland sleeve and when they latter Figurer is a longitudinalsection throughthe stufllng box, and l Y Fig. 2 is an end view of the gland sleeve; The object inl connection with which the stuifing box is used is represented at a. This may be l a cable, pipe, or any other object which passes y A arrancan-ennuyer, 1era' sciamanesimo Lzloiaims. teresa-csr l through an lopening b` located. `for instance, in 'a wallorpart'iticn c of :a water-tight compartment i Aa ship. The Lstuilinghoxis employed to prel vent leakage of water andair through the open *ing b canili-ld' the object.

" inits preferred form the Istuiiirig box-comprises tl'rreemtallic parts'ishownat A, B 'and-'0, and a 1 @packing iD; Each of the three lmetal-parts is prefreralslyrn'ade frommetal tubing. `rlhefpar-t constitutes trl-iebox proper. It is so'shaped-as to provide =a neck lflof `relativelysmall[diameter and s Jaibody portion f2-^loilargerfdiameter interconnected freceive'thelcablefor other dialect awithfa rather :dese lricci-rc the space within :the `rcx .between the body portion 2 and the surface of the object.-

is adapted ite receive the packing D. 1

I is internally threaded as shown at E to receive the composite gland which is made up of the two parts B and C. The part B, which I call the gland sleeve, is externally threaded as shown `at `I so that it may be screwed into the threaded end of the box'. The end 8 ofthe glandsleeve may be formed in the shape of a nut 9, as shown in Fig. 2, to facilitate turning it by means of a wrench.`

As shown in Fig. 1 the internal diameter of the cylindrical portion of.1 they gland -sleeve B is greater than the external diameter of the object a and at its forward end nearest the packing isl provided with an integral inwardly directed flange I 0. This ange clears the objecta to leave space for the other part C ofthe gland.

The part C, which I call the gland bush, is a short length of metal tubing whose internal diameter is approximately the same as the external diameter of the object a. At one end the gland bush has an integral outwardly directed flange Il which lies between the packing D and the flange I0 on the gland sleeve. At its otherrend the gland bush has a second integral outwardly directed flange l 2 behind the flange l 0 on the sleeve. The arrangement is such that the gland bush is inseparable from the gland sleeve even when the gland sleeve is removed from the box. Also the cylindrical mid-portion of the bush C affords a bearing for the object a, so that if the object is bent sidewise the stress is not applied entirely at the joint with the wall c. f V

I To install the stuiiing box the part A is attached to the wall c, as above described, and then the cable or other object a is inserted into the stufling box. The gland sleeve B is then turned by means of a wrench applied to the nut 9 to advance it into the part A. The flange l0 engaging vwith the-iiange Il on the gland bush C moves the latter axially to apply a frontal pressure on the packing "and thereby compresses the packingD. The taperedlinner surface of theportion 3 forces the packing in the converging zone of the packing in the well known manner.

When it is desired to repack the stuing box,

the gland sleeve B is turned in the opfposite direction to withdraw it from the box A.` `The flanger 1o space tightly against the surface of the objecira x lis not limited to the uses mentioned above for it may be used in many of the relations where the Ausual type of stufling box is used.

I claim: 1; In a stuing box for a cylindrical object com- Hprising a cylindrical box having a body portion of larger diameter than the object to be packed and having a forward neck portion ofsubstanv rtially the diameter of the object, thereby forming l 0 on the gland sleeve willv then engage with the`" flange I2 on the `gland bush, so that when the a ipacking space.- and a tapering wall between v'saidportions'to form a converging forward zone l in said'packing space ;A a gland sleeve in threaded gland sleeve is withdrawn from the box it will also withdraw the gland bush. No diiiculty is encountered in withdrawing the gland bush since" the single act of removing the gland sleeve also removes the glandbush. Being permanently attached to the gland sleeve, the gland bush cannot readily be lost.

The gland bush compresses the packing D with a direct axial non-rotary movement. The flange l0 on the inner end of the gland sleeve does not rotate in direct contact with thepacking dueto the interposition of the flange Il on the gland bush. Thus there vis no relative rotation between any metal part of .the stuing box and the packI ing.l When the gland sleeve is turned it has no abrasive frictional action/,on the surface of the rcable since the gland sleeve is spaced away from and Vis out of contact with the surface of the cable.` 1 v The improved stuffing box is simple in construction and -inexpensive'to manufacture.. It lendsitselfwell to mass production with amini- Y engagement with the inner wall of said box and comprising a cylindrical portion having an internal diameter larger than the external diam- .eter -of the object and having an integral flange tocause the bush to be withdrawn when the sleeve is withdrawn, while leaving the bush free from rotation with the sleeve. 2. In a stuffing box having a gland structure as dened in claim 1, the construction in which the gland is of sheet metal and has an integral outward flange at its rear and shapedto receive a wrench.

JAMES M. G. FULLMAN. 

